Walk Away
by IceQueenRex
Summary: “Walk away while you can,” he whispered harshly, gazing intently into pale lavender orbs. “I’ll only break you more.” She refused. Sasuke x Hinata


A/N: I can't help it, I'm having SasuHina fever

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto...cries

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Walk Away

She stood in front of him, her short hair splaying against her cheeks as a light breeze ruffled past them. She could see the frustration on his face, the play of his lashes against his cheeks, the rise and fall of crimson on his skin. His dark eyes penetrated her deeper than any other could. The Uchiha was angry, his fists clenched hard at his side and Hinata didn't need her Byakugan to know that his nails were drawing blood. When was the last time he hurt himself like this? A few nights ago? When he'd been in another one of his rages?

It seemed to be getting worse by the day. He would snap for no reason. He would insult her and he would hurt her with words that they both knew weren't true. But sometimes it was difficult to decipher between what was meant and what wasn't especially when anger and recklessness was deluding you. But she was always silent.

She gazed at him softly, her eyes the epitome of warmth; the only warmth he would ever feel by anyone. An Avenger was meant to do just that; avenge. Pity, sympathy and love were not part of the package and he knew that. So why did he let himself get this far? How could he bring himself to cling to this person? He didn't love her. He hardly knew her even after all these years. Their blood should have made them allies but it instead created a social stigma and a passive aggression between the two clans.

After he avenged, there was no guarantee that he'd still be alive. So his clan would vanish forever. She would take the name of another and her clan would be left to her cousin and her sister. But blood ran strong. Blood was life. And it was the only thing he could hold onto. Her blood. Her life. Her words. Her touch. Her breath.

But he was killing her. Every single day he was killing her softly, as soft as her hands during battle. They couldn't survive like this. Killing her, killed him back. The guilt was so strong and thick that it felt like a rope that just kept on winding itself around a slender, weak throat. How could he do that to someone like her? Someone who knew the pain of loneliness and of rejection and of weakness and of loss? How could he? He needed to stop it now. Needed to push her away before he destroyed her completely. Nothing good could come out of them together.

No matter how much he felt for her, he couldn't ever love her.

He refused to try.

He stepped closer to her, seeing the passive expression on her face. "Walk away while you can," he whispered harshly, gazing intently into pale lavender orbs. "I'll only break you more."

She refused.

And he cursed under his breath at the determination and defiance he saw in her eyes. Hinata wasn't leaving. Glaring, he took a step closer, towering over her small form.

"Hinata," he began in a warning tone.

Pressing her lips together, she looked down and shook her head. "No, Sasuke."

In a fit of rage, he swung his arm down and grabbed hers, pulling it to him so she was forced to jerk up and look into his livid, frustrated and pained face. "Stop this foolishness. You know this isn't right."

Every day that he spent with her, he was painfully waiting for the day she would turn to him and tell him that she was leaving him. Every day, he waited for a coldness to appear in those eyes of hers, a harshness in that soft voice of hers, a glare on that high forehead of hers. Every day he waited for what he felt was inevitable. It never came. And he wished it would. He wished she would be the one to tell him to go. He wished that she would be the one to tell him whatever they had was over.

Because he couldn't bring himself to do it.

Leaving her was just too hard.

He didn't know what it was about her. The only thing beautiful about her were her eyes. Other than that, he could have chosen beauty elsewhere. Perhaps it was the look she often gave him. Perhaps it was the tone of voice she always used with him. Perhaps it was the way she ruffled her hair when she was frustrated, or the way her cheeks would burn when he teased her, or the way her smile made him feel like he was a child again. He hated it.

Hinata continued to watch him, unwaveringly, even as his fingers tightened around her arm. Since when did she have this sort of strength?

Since...

"I won't leave you." Her voice was barely above a whisper. But it was so strong. Not once did she stutter.

He cursed, clenching his eyes and teeth tightly. "Don't do this," he hissed, refusing to look at her.

Since...

"Sasuke, please..."

He growled and jerked her forward again so she was closer. He heard her wince and was flooded with shame. "Stop it, Hinata."

Her eyes began to glisten with tears. "You can't make me do this." She sounded almost desperate and it broke his heart to see her like this.

With a shuddering breath, the dark eyed boy dropped his head to the ground, shaking with pain. His hand never loosened its hold. "Why?" he asked pleadingly, hurt evident in his tone. "Why do you do this to yourself?"

An audible, high pitched breath escaped her throat and her tears fell.

_Because_...

He trembled, his eyes covered by his hair and she could feel the distress emanating from him. All the emotions he'd long held back were swarming like bees in his mind. _Sasuke._ "How can you still stay this close to me?" He couldn't understand, she realised. He couldn't understand why. He didn't understand the reasons for her being there.

_Because..._

"Why can't you just tell me to leave? Why do you let me do this to you?" He finally looked at her, and the girl gasped, her heart skipping a beat, at the wetness in his eyes. "How...how can you_ bear_ to have me near you?"

A soft sob escaped her.

"Because I..." She shook her head, willing herself more strength. Her eyes slid closed and she finally succumbed to her tears, her small body wracked with sobs and shudders and she threw herself at him and clung to him for dear life. "Because I need you."

Dark eyes widened and stared ahead, only vaguely aware of the girl holding him for her life. Her words echoed in his ears. And her next ones made him fall like a dandelion in the wind.

"Because I love you."

_Because I love you..._

The words kept playing in his mind, over and over again. Sasuke began to feel a dampness in his shirt and as he looked down, he found Hinata's face buried in his chest and her eyes leaking tears that he wished he'd never struck from her. She was stubborn. She wouldn't listen. He blinked a few times, his lids heavy.

"H-Hinata..." he breathed, placing a hand on top of her head in an attempt to be consoling. He failed miserably and felt his insides crumbling. How he hated it whenever he made her feel like this, feel like she was worthless and feel like he didn't care. He knew he was never the best at showing emotion but Hinata had figured from the amount of time they spent together that there was something there. And she had told him so. The ever shy, unsociable girl had told _him_ that there was something there.

Tiny digits curled around the material at his chest. "Please, Sasuke."

Helplessly, he looked down at her head, stroking the dark tresses gently as he whispered apologetically, "I'll only hurt you."

Her lavender eyes clenched tighter and she gushed in one breath, "It doesn't matter!"

He didn't know what to say to that. What could he say? He couldn't comply. He couldn't tell her to go because if he knew her as well as he thought he did, once she made up her mind, however trepid the road to the location, it was set. She was...

"Stubborn," he chuckled, despite himself.

"Like y-you," the girl hiccupped.

She had trapped him again. And this time, there was no letting go. Maybe for a while, he could do this. Maybe, he'd grow stronger and be able to save her. Maybe, he just needed to try harder with her. Maybe she was the only one who knew how to save him. One thing was for sure though; he couldn't let her go anytime soon. And as his arms curled around her and held her close, he felt a long heavy sigh of relief escape her tired form and she relaxed and fell fully into his arms.

Her chains were definitely a strong hold on him. And he didn't understand how she could be so selfless and keep going at him all the time. He didn't understand the strength she could encompass within her when every other time she seemed to melt into the ground. He didn't understand why she cared. How she could care.

When did it end up like this? When was it that he found someone whom he could share his pain with? How did he find someone who was willing to try and take it all away?

When he found that she didn't want to tame him but help him grow. That was what she tried to do every single time he snapped, every single time he broke, every single time they fought. Hinata had always just tried to help him grow.

Breathing deep, he buried his face into her hair and asked in a muted voice, "Can you hold on a little longer?"

Her reply was immediate. "Can you?"

_Yes._

"Yes."

The evening breeze blew around them once more, rustling the leaves of the tree they stood under. "Then yes, I can hold on a little longer."

Maybe they were meant to be.

Maybe they were both meant to hurt.

Maybe they'd both be destroyed.

But as long as they were destroyed together, always together, maybe they could hold on a little longer.

"Come on, I'll take you home."

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A/N: Just a little SasuHina angsty fluff. A little idea that came to mind while watching TV. Might write a full length story if this hits off well and gets enough reviews so please if you have any constructive criticism or just anything to say (no flames please) just write a nice little review! Happy reading!

Peace out!  
Rex


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